snap election

本日のDMNからですが、ここのsnap general electionという表現はどのような意味でしょうか？気になります。Pearさん、教えてください。（GP）
54 percent of public against consumption tax hike

In this Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011 file photo, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda speaks during a press conference at his official residence in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa)
Over half of the public is against a consumption tax hike and wants the lower house dissolved for a snap general election before a bill to raise the tax is submitted to the Diet, a Mainichi Shimbun poll has found.

The nationwide poll, conducted on Dec. 3 and 4, found that 54 percent of the respondents were opposed to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's plans to raise the consumption tax in stages from the current 5 percent to 10 percent by the mid-2010s, while 45 percent supported it. Sixty-four percent of the respondents also endorsed the opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)'s calls for the dissolution of the House of Representatives for a general election before the tax hike bill makes its way into the Diet, while 34 percent opposed the move.